Applying for Financial Aid

First Steps

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

All students seeking need-based or federal financial aid must complete a FAFSA at
www.fafsa.gov.

USciences' federal school code is 003353.

All students (and at least one parent for dependent students) who will be completing
the FAFSA will need to obtain a FSA ID.

The USciences FAFSA preferred filing priority date is February 1 for the academic
year beginning the following fall. After the preferred date, aid will only be awarded
if funds are available.

When completing the FAFSA, students in professional programs should pay special attention
when answering the following questions on the form:

"What degree or certificate will you be working on during the next academic year?"

and

"Are you a graduate/professional student?"

If you are a direct-entry student (6-year combined bachelor's/doctorate program) in
the Doctor of Pharmacy Program (PharmD), the Physical Therapy Program (DPT), or the
Occupational Therapy Program (DrOT), you will be working on your bachelor's degree
until your fifth year of study, when you will have earned your bachelor's degree and
progressed to graduate study.

If you are entering the professional years of a program having already earned a Bachelor's
degree, you are a graduate student and are working on your master's or doctorate degree.

If you would like to complete a FAFSA on paper instead of online, please call (800)
4FED-AID, and press "0" for a customer service representative to request a paper FAFSA
be mailed to you.

After You Apply

Student Aid Report

After you submit your completed FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR)
from Federal Student Aid, an office of the US Department of Education. The SAR is
a hard copy of the information you provided on the FAFSA. This report indicates your
Expected Family Contribution (EFC), your Federal Pell Grant eligibility and any data
mismatches which must be resolved.

The SAR also gives you an opportunity to correct any errors or update your data. If
you estimated your financial information when you originally completed your FAFSA,
you may review and correct your information by logging into your FAFSA and making
corrections.

Important! Be sure the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, along with school code (003353)
is listed on your SAR. If it is not, log into your FAFSA, click "make corrections",
add our school code and sign and submit the correction.

Financial Aid Award Letter

Every student who applies for Financial Aid will receive a Financial Aid Award Letter.
This letter details the aid for which the student is eligible, the type of aid the
student has been awarded, and the amounts. A Financial Aid Award Letter Guide explaining
the types of aid and the codes used on the letter, and an Alternative Loan Comparison
Chart outlining various loan options for students and parents will also be included
with your Financial Aid Award Letter.

Special Circumstances

Verification

Verification is a process by which the Department of Education randomly selects students
to have their FAFSA information reviewed by the Financial Aid Office. If you are selected,
you (and if dependent, your parents; if independent, your spouse if applicable) must
supply documentation to to the Financial Aid Office.

Office staff will use the documentation to confirm the data reported on your FAFSA
form. Typically, this means completing a verification worksheet and either: using
the Data Retrieval Tool on the FAFSA to transfer tax information directly from the
IRS to the FAFSA; or requesting a Tax Return Transcript at www.irs.gov, and submitting it with the Verification Worksheet.

The Financial Aid Office will notify you regarding the particular documents necessary
to satisfy the verification requirement. No Federal Financial Aid may be credited
to your account until this process is completed. For verification documents, see
our Financial Aid Forms web page.

"C" Flags

When you apply for financial aid, the Department of Education (ED) attempts to verify
your information with other federal agencies. "C" Flags indicate inconsistent information
or information that could not be verified by ED. "C" Flags are identified with an
explanation on Part I of the SAR.

All "C" Flag issues must be resolved before the Financial Aid Office can disburse
any financial aid. Resolution can occur through the assistance of certain Federal
agencies. You will be notified by the Financial Aid Office of any documentation or
action required to resolve the "C" Flag.

Changes in Family Circumstances

Students complete the FAFSA with the previous year's tax and income information. However,
the Financial Aid Office recognizes that sometimes changes happen within a family
such as unemployment or other loss of income, disability, divorce or death in the
family that could affect financial aid eligibility.

You may complete a Change in Family Circumstances Form if one of these conditions applies to you. You will be required to submit appropriate
documentation (such as an employment termination letter or unemployment statement),
as well as a Verification Worksheet and supporting tax information.